Hey World,
My plants really encouraged me this week. I brought 5 succulent plants for my birthday in Palm Springs, a famous desert in California. It's a nice place to visit, but it's known for its hot weather. When buying them, I was asked if I would keep the plants indoors or outdoors. I immediately said indoors and was told to make sure that they receive a lot of sunlight. After arriving home, I put them on my porch to receive direct sunlight. I also wanted to make sure that they didn't have any bugs before I brought them indoors. After weeks of being on my porch, they were not doing good. They were leaning over and looked terrible.
Later I moved the plants to my bathroom. I had two trunks in my bathroom as decoration. I put the plants in them, watered them, and went on with life. Last week I looked down at my plants and was in shock. They were flourishing, looking healthy and robust. And at that moment, I was encouraged and saw the importance of your positioning.
Your environment plays a big part in your growth. We need to consider all elements of our current positioning. What are we being exposed to? Too much of a good thing can be bad for you. My plants needed sunlight, but they were getting too much direct sunlight which caused them to dry out.
Now for my Strong Friends, I understand that a part of you enjoys being a reliable source for people. It feels good to be able to support a friend that's in need. People are quick to pick up the phone, call you, ask for your advice and dump their situation onto you. Yes, they may ask how you're doing, but when you start to answer, they started to over-talk you to get to their day. Yes, it's frustrating, but my question to you is, who do you vent to? If you don't have anyone, I suggest it's time to make some changes. Do you have a safe place to be authentic and share your truth? If the answer is no, you may want to think about setting boundaries and fostering relationships where you can be poured into.
Depending on the subject matter, I can go to my mom or my best friend. But there are some topics that I need to take directly to God. The subjects that I don't even want to face, those secret areas in my life. He is my safe place. He can be trusted with the good, bad and ugly. This makes me think of Psalms 91:1-2 NKJV He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord , "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."
It's easy for us to run to our friends, to the comfort of our relationship, or even try to figure it out on our own. I find that my situations are much less painful when I seek Him and trust in His timing. Have you ever tried to call multiple people, no one answers their phone, and you have no one to go to but God? He shouldn't be an afterthought. I want to challenge you to seek God first in your decision-making. Seek His secret place by submitting time to searching for Him. Carve out time in your day to thank Him. Focus on the positive aspects of your life, and when you face a challenge, take it to Him in prayer. I'm accepting the same challenge and will start NOW! Let's make this day GREAT together.
Love,
Authentically Tee
